I received this from a friend and decided it was worthy of passing along to
my "extended professional family"

If you haven't done all of your giving for the year, consider the sentiment
at the end... if you have, think again and then re-consider the sentiment at
the end.  If you've done all of your receiving, I hope you had Momma-kitty's
wisdom when considering your gifts.

Happy holidays to you all.

Larry

 =======================
  The Christmas Mouse

Dear Friends,
Christmas has descended on us once again and for me, way too soon as usual.

It should be a joyous time when we sit back, reflect,
and appreciate the spirit of the holiday and those who
share it with us.

But, more often than not, we'll get caught up in the logistics
of events, the commercialism, and the pageantry of gift giving.

The final act, the drama of the gift exchange, seems
to have become a predictable, perfunctory ceremony void of the
excitement and spontaneity that it had when we were young.

Today, children and adults alike focus more and more on the content
of the gift rather than the context of it's giving.

This year, however,  i got an early present. One that has helped me
reconnect
with the true spirit of Christmas. The spirit of an earlier time.

You-all know the story of our feral cat, "Momma-kitty."
She is still with us and little more tame than when she first arrived.

Since our normal interactions are typically limited to subtle exercises in
mutual behavior manipulation, i was rather suppressed by her latest act.

Our usual morning routine starts with my opening up the garage where she
and her progeny (Tommy-cat) spend the night. The chronology of this event
can be a point of contention between us, since she and i don't always get up
at the same time.

This mourning i was late and expected a sultry greeting filled with
recrimination and a sour disposition. Instead, all was quiet.

Immediately in front of the garage door i found a small grey dead mouse.
It was perfectly laid out, centered in the door way, exactly perpendicular
to my path.

Surprisingly, there wasn't a mark on it. The fur was properly arranged as if

it had been licked clean, very unlike the occasional half eaten kill
haphazardly left laying somewhere on the floor.

In the past, such messes were unceremoniously removed and disposed of,
by me, accompanied by my expressions of irritation and disgust.
But, unlike those instances, the Christmas Mouse was laid out in an almost
ceremonial display, apparently with much care.

This mouse was obviously a gift meant for me.
I picked it up gently and inspected it, as it lay on a paper towel in my
hand.

Instead of a dead mouse, i saw it for what it really was, a present!
Then i began to understand its true value.

To the "giver"  it represented one of the more precious things in life,
To Momma-kitty the Christmas Mouse meant another day without hunger.
It represented a full belly and a comfortable nights sleep.
And she was giving all that to me.

My feral cat taught me an important lesson.
And that is to look at a gift through the eyes of the giver, not the
receiver.

Now days we're far too dismissive of that which we, our selves don't value.

The true value of a gift is in the giving, we should learn to value them
accordingly.

I just cut a check to our Food Bank and my favorite animal shelter.

Merry Christmas to you all and a very happy new year.




-- 
Larry Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972

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